South African maize futures ended mixed on Friday, after struggling for direction in the absence of any fresh market moving data.
The near-dated May 2012 white maize contract was up R1 to R2,061 per ton, but July 2012 white maize lost R2.80 to R2,011.20 per ton, and September 2012 white maize gained R9 to R2,046 per ton, according to preliminary I-Net Bridge data.
The near-dated May 2012 yellow maize contract was R2 higher at R1,967 per ton, but the July 2012 yellow maize contract slipped R1 to R1,970 per ton and the September 2012 yellow maize contract inched up 80 cents to R2,002.80 per ton.
Andrew Fletcher, a trader at Unigrain, said the US Department of Agriculture would next week release its first production forecast report for the 2012-13 season, which would in the short term guide the grains market.
The May wheat contract was up R10 to R2,670 per ton, July wheat dipped R3 to R2,725 per ton, while the September 2012 wheat contract edged down R1.40 to R2,787 per ton.
Meanwhile, corn ended mixed on Thursday with CBOT July corn closing 3 cents higher at $6.14 1/2 a bushel but December corn ended down 1 1/2 cents at $5.29 1/2, according to Dow Jones Newswires. US soybean futures slumped to one-week lows as technical chart weakness damped optimism that a four-month-long rally could extend its upward course near term. - I-Net Bridge